A man in Pontiac, Michigan, who has watched one too many Bugs Bunny cartoons attempted to save his house from demolition by swapping address numbers with the even more derelict house next door. And, thanks to the demolition crew missing the numbering incongruity, it worked. Briefly. The owner of the wrongly demolished house reported the incident and the correct house was leveled later that same day.

Neighbors were thrilled that the wrong house was demolished, however, saying it was an eyesore and home to squatters. Though one neighbor said the wrongly demolished house wasn’t worth “a 12-pack of empties,” the owner is seeking compensation from the city.

One man’s ingenious plan to save his house from the wrecking ball caused crews to take down the wrong home in Pontiac on Thursday.

The man who owned the house that was slated for demolition is accused of changing the address numbers with the house next door.

Mike–the man who owns the house that wasn’t supposed to be torn down– tells 7 Action News he was planning on renting it out on October 1 and he’s wondering if the city of Pontiac owes him a new house.

But many in the neighborhood are happy the wrong house was torn down. They say it was an eyesore with broken windows. They also said squatters were living in the home.

“When I heard they tore down the house on accident I wanted to give them a twelve pack of beer,” said neighbor Fred Sargent. “I was that happy.”

“If anybody was going to rent that out, it had to be a crackhead,” Sargent said.

Detectives with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office are now investigating the alleged swapping of address numbers that led to the wrong house being torn down.

Regardless, the man’s plan didn’t work for long. Crews returned late Thursday to actually tear down the right one.